Travel Lawyers Believe Other Guests May Also Have Fallen Ill

A family from Lanarkshire have asked travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell for help after their holiday in Bulgaria was ruined by gastric illness.

Anthony McNee, Stephanie King and daughter Ellie were staying at the Victoria Palace Hotel, Sunny Beach, in October 2010. The family spent the final two days of their holiday at a different hotel after they suffered gastric illness and raised concerns over the quality of food.

The family had stayed at the Thomas Cook-operated hotel previously and enjoyed it so much that they wanted to return. Sadly, they said that they returned to find that standards had now fallen to an unacceptable level.

Travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are representing the family and believe that other guests may have also fallen ill.

Elizabeth Tetzner, a specialist in holiday illness claims, is shocked at what she has heard from the family in relation to food quality at the hotel. She said: “We constantly campaign for improved standards for British tourists visiting overseas resorts yet we frequently see hotels where no improvements are made. However, for this young family to find that standards at the Victoria Palace have declined since they last went there is particularly disappointing.

“They were so distraught by the conditions, and so worried about their health, that they were moved to another hotel. While we applaud the tour operator’s actions in moving the family, they were slow to respond to their complaints and the fact remains that they should not have been exposed to these conditions in the first place.”

Mr McNee said: “The food was absolutely awful and was barely edible – we all felt very ill and I know we weren’t the only ones there who felt like that. At times the chicken was almost raw and we were very disappointed by how often this was the case. We got fed up with uncooked chicken and tried the pork, only to find that this was undercooked just as often. To top it all off, even the eggs at breakfast were served undercooked at times.

“As a parent you want to be able to take your children to new places and to try new things – but when you book with major operators like Thomas Cook you expect levels of cleanliness and food hygiene that simply weren’t present at Victoria Palace this time around. I couldn’t believe how far the hotel’s standards had dropped since the last time we went and I’m disappointed that the tour operator has not stepped in.

“There were lots of other people complaining about the standards at the time and I was so concerned about the food that we demanded to be relocated. I could not wait to get out of the Victoria Palace and I won’t ever go back there.”